Old Friends
by STR0B3L1T3
Summary: Yamanaka Ino is an intern at the hottest magazine in the continent. Her partners in crime are the boyfriend obssessed Sakura, the not so shy Hinata, and the older, wiser, Tenten. Watch them as both the in and out of office drama unfolds.
1. Old Friends

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any music I use.

A/N: I'm warning you now, I'm fairly sure that this is going to be a crack pairing. I'm not sure _what_ the pairing is going to be, but crack for sure.

**Old Friends**

I felt like this had been the millionth time I was shocked and hurt at something he said. I thought this was going to just get better and mature with time – like fine wine. I was so wrong. I could feel that the whole situation was off, everything was crashing and burning.

"You know what? I can't believe it! I cannot believe it! I almost destroyed my career for you!" I roared at him. My boss was annoyed because I had missed a vital opportunity to travel abroad and almost fired me. Instead I was living in a beautiful beachside house constantly arguing with my infuriating, lazy, boyfriend!

At first everything had been stellar. There were nightly walks on the beach that led to dinner on the beach surrounded by tea candles which lead to some of the most sensual encounters of my life. Then the arguing started. At first, it was over little things, like hair in the sink or leaving the toilet seat up. Well, that was at first.

He just moaned and rolled over, totally in the midst of a hangover. I ran my hand through blond tresses and contemplated the inevitable.

Soon, the fights escalated and we both said some nasty things. That's when the drinking problem started. He started spending less time with me and more time with his beer buddies. He went out to the local pub and drank the night away and always came back piss drunk.

This was pathetic. I was so over it.

I stalked over to my room and threw my possessions into my giant LV Damier Azur Keepall. My LV Monogram Vernis collection of items was thrown into it, along with some jersey dresses and my Havianas flip flops. I grabbed my keys off the counter and slid into my black Mercedes.

I drove, and drove, and drove. I was almost at my final destination in Oto when the realization of the whole thing hit me. I did the first thing most people do at the realization of a heavy revelation. I broke down and cried.

Turning into a parking lot, I became hysterical and it took me a moment to recollect myself and make sure my makeup was still in place. I reached for my Blackberry and called my best friend, Hinata, to see what was going on.

"Hinata! I'm back in Oto no Kuni!" I grinned hearing her squeal.

"Hey, I think I'm going to swing by before going home, is that cool?" she agreed and that we would go to dinner as well, seeing as I had no food in my apartment.

I threw my phone into the passenger's seat and continued on driving towards her pad. I hope that all my friends wouldn't pity me too much because of the whole Shikamaru thing. Pity was the last thing I wanted.

She greeted me with a hug as usual, "oh my god! You look gorgeous! Come in!"

I hugged her back and stepped inside, "you wouldn't believe what happened, it's been crazy."

"Try me." We both took our seats on the plush sofa in the middle of the living room and I toyed with my necklace from one of the vendors in Tsuchi no Kuni.

"Mmkay, so you know how Shikamaru had this whole thing set up, beautiful house in Tsuchi no Kuni on the beach? Well, it was magical the entire first week we were there. We even hooked up on the beach," I rasped slightly.

"That's when it started going down hill, we would fight about stupid things and then he wouldn't come home until like two in the morning – or sometimes not at all. After a while it just snowballed and I called it quits. I left this morning." Naturally, I started to tear up, just because he was such a big part of my life.

Hinata gave me a big hug and smiled, "it'll be alright, honey. You know what we should do? Let's go out Friday night with Sakura and Tenten to Otogakure to celebrate you moving on."

I smiled thinly, the last thing I wanted to do was go out to a club, but I didn't feel like being pitied anymore, "thanks, Hinata, I better be getting home now, I'll see you on Friday!"

Hyuuga Hinata was thin, with blue eyes and dark hair. She was pretty and a great friend. Never once did we really quarrel about anything. I loved her to death; she was one of my best friends from this crazy town. She used to have a stutter, but after being hounded by Sasuke for about a month, she had gotten over it and lost it at him one day. Glad someone can see him for whom he is.

Haruno Sakura was my ex-roommate who was now living with her boyfriend Sasuke. Sakura was my best friend for a long time, until it so happened that she stopped hanging out with me to be with him. I'm not totally hurt, I have other friends. Sasuke's an idiot and so is Sakura.

Tenten was a friend from work and a total sweetheart. She broke up with her long time boyfriend not too long ago. He's actually Hinata's cousin, but it doesn't matter, he'll regret chasing her away.

And then there's me. My name is Yamanaka Ino. I have long blonde hair and baby blue eyes. I used to live in Hi no Kuni, but that all changed after I got the internship at Jutsu, one of the most popular magazines in the Lands.

On my way home I stopped and got some rich miso ramen topped with corn, bean sprouts, pork, squid, crab, and scallops along with some onigiri. Running a hand through my blond hair I went back to an empty apartment.

I sat in the living room downstairs and slurped up my ramen while watching TV. To the side of me on the unstained cream couch was my Sony Vaio laptop. I was an intern at the magazine company, Oto Jutsu, and was studying under the great Orochimaru.

After half an hour I sent out a mass e-mail to all my friends telling them the Shikamaru situation and if we were still going out to Otogakure. I would respond to Kimi-kun's e-mail, and Orochimaru's memo later. At about midnight I fell asleep on the couch with my notebooks and agenda's spread out and open.

So, then, the next morning Sakura comes over without Sasuke, thank god, and talks about how Sasuke's friend, Hozuki Suigetsu is all interested in me and stuff.

Sakura comes over, all starry eyed from being with Sasuke too long, "oh my god! Ino! You know Sasuke's friend?"

I take a calm sip of orange juice and mutter, "the one with the split personality?"

She glares at me with her usual exasperated stare and then proceeds, "no, I meant Hozuki Suigetsu!"

I proceed to almost spit out my orange juice all over the granite counter and stare, "excuse me?"

She continues to bounce in only the way she can, "you don't have to thank me, but I invited him to the club on Friday!"

I briefly wonder if she's totally stupid, "Forehead-Girl? Did you forget? I just broke up with Shikamaru."

Her hand waves in the air, "but I totally saw this coming and so did you. Just, try and have a good time at Otogakure, please? By the way, I bought a totally cute Moschino Cheap and Chic dress earlier, I hope you don't plan on wearing yours."

I retort under my breath, "then why can't Sas-gay go out with him?" before putting on a cheery smile and herding her out the door with work as the excuse. Sometimes I hated her.

* * *

**A/N: **Reviews, please? I'd like some feedback on this, should I continue? 


	2. Of Drinks and Flowers

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any music I use.

**Old Friends**

Chapter Two: Flowers and a Drink

Even after all my supposedly 'sneaky' maneuvers, I still found myself sitting in Otogakure, the hottest club in Oto no Kuni. Sakura sat over with Sasuke and his friends while I sat with Tenten and Hinata at the bar, dancing and mingling.

After my second drink Sakura waved me over and made room for me to sit next to Suigetsu. I sat down and accepted the seat gracefully. Suigetsu tried to be charming; I have to give him that.

"Ino, am I allowed to call you that?" he asked.

I nodded and took another sip of the sake in front of me and then adjusted my black D & G Bustier Top Dress. I had been originally going to wear another little number, but Sakura went and got it first. Sigh.

He grinned, "I heard you're interning at Oto Jutsu? How is that?"

I smiled, "it's a good gig. I love it, but I miss being at home."

Suigetsu frowned, his blue hair was soft as he leaned in some more, "why, where did you live before, Ino-chan? Sakura didn't mention it to me.

I shrugged nonchalantly, "I used to live in Hi no Kuni, but I was born in Yuki no Kuni. What about you, Suigetsu? All I know about you is that you went out with Temari before."

Suigetsu laughed at me and we both smiled, "I'm from Mizu no Kuni. Isn't Yuki no Kuni the epicenter of the whole technological advances?"

"I thought this was about you, Sui-kun."

His lips curved into a smirk and he continued, "I went to the Academy there and graduated before they changed their graduation test… but afterwards I came out to Oto to pursue my career."

I looked at him and nodded, he was interesting. Mizu no Kuni was the smallest country, but it had the toughest final exams of the continent. Apparently they were brutal.

"Yuki no Kuni is the epicenter of the technological advances. We already had a phone resembling that awful iPhone thing about two years ago. This Blackberry I have to use is so old school, but Yuki no Kuni is totally uptight about their technology spreading, but that's so whatever. Other countries' service providers can't even support my phone and long distance bills are a bitch," I shrugged as a waiter weaved his way through the crowd towards me.

He smiled at me as I caught his eye and he put the drink down in front of me, "Ah, Miss? A young man sent you this drink."

I marveled at the odds, this was my favourite kind of sake from Yuki no Kuni, "oh my god! This is like my favourite sake ever! It's from Yuki no Kuni!" I gushed to Suigetsu, who was looking kind of annoyed.

"You like the strong stuff?" he said sniffing it and taking a little sip.

I took it back from him and wagged my finger at him, "bad Sui-kun, this is my sake." He looked affronted and for the rest of the night we talked about cats. Yes, cats, it would seem that Sui-kun is a cat lover. That's weird, but I own a big fluffy cat, so I don't care.

Ugh, I woke up the next morning and threw on a Morphine Generation tunic with a pair of 7 for all Mankind jeans and put on a pair of flats and big sunglasses. I had a killer hangover, and knowing Tenten, she would too.

You see, my job at Jutsu magazine, which was the hottest magazine. It was all about the lifestyle of the luxurious. We had both done this for a couple years and were on track to getting a lot of money as employees.

I prowled through downtown Oto in my Mercedes and then went to greet Tenten who was most likely in the office. With a sigh, I sat down at my desk and wondered about who sent me the drink. I knew it wasn't Shikamaru, he hated doing anything of the sort and was not into the whole club and alcohol scene.

Briefly, I thought of a certain artist from Tsuchi no Kuni, but simply shook it off.

"Good morning, Ten-chan!" I called in a sing-song voice.

She moaned and glowered at me, "it's too early, and I have a pounding headache."

"Cute dress, is it Diane von Furstenberg?" I asked, eyeing the cute dress.

Tenten grinned and said, "of course! You know Orochimaru likes his D.V.F.!"

With a chuckle I sat down to start my work and started printing off some e-mails. I had to put together a whole floral arrangement to be the centre pieces of the tables.

As I gathered my materials, one of the receptionists from downstairs came through the doors to my office, which I shared with Tenten.

"Hey Tayuya," I smiled at the pretty red head, "who gave you those flowers?"

She smirked back, "actually, Ino, these are for you and damn am I jealous."

My eyes widened and Tenten whistled. The bouquet was pure white and had two kinds of lilies. It was huge and I almost could not see Tayuya over the bouquet. Wow.

"Are you sure?" I wondered if it was from Shikamaru as I opened the card.

Ino,  
I'm sorry I couldn't stay to see you at Otogakure yesterday. I got caught up.  
Please accept these as an apology; I know they're your favourite.  
Love,  
Your Secret Admirer

No way in hell this was Shikamaru! He would never send a girl flowers saying it was too "troublesome", whatever that meant and he didn't even know my favourite drink. So, who could it be? Two dark eyes flashed in my head and I down played it as nothing. I had floral arrangements to get to!

That evening, Tenten and Hinata were hanging out in my apartment waiting for our old friends from Hi no Kuni to arrive. They had just gotten into Oto. After a couple minutes people started flowing and mingling before we headed out to Otogakure – again.

Tenten was sitting by the island with my old friends from high school, Tsuchi Kin, Inuzuka Kiba, and Sai.

Kin was a force to be reckoned with, despite her sweet as pie demeanor Currently she was wearing a cute blue Young, Fabulous & Broke shirt, with a short little denim mini. She had black hair and startling green eyes.

Sai was an artist and we used to work together frequently. Not too many people liked him, but my old group used to give him chances. He wore an open white dress shirt and black slacks. Classic.

Inuzuka Kiba was an old playboy friend. I was the only girl he didn't date because apparently, to him, I was the type of girl he would bring home to meet his family. He was looking for sex, not marriage, so we never dated. Kiba wore Hugo Boss sweats, and a JL sweater.

"Ino-chan, do you think we could make a pact?" she smiled softly, "no drinking for the night?"

I laughed and stuck out my hand, "for sure, Hinata-chan, not after yesterdays party."

We giggled and then went back to mingling.

"Ino-san?" I whirled around to find an old childhood friend standing behind me, a tentative smile on his face.

I squealed, "Kimi-kun? Kaguya Kimimaro? It is SO good to see you, darling!" And then I pulled him into a long overdue hug. We had been keeping up by e-mail over all these years and he finally come to visit me.

We sat down on one of the couches when Sakura arrived with Sasuke's crew. Yes, 'Sas-gay' has a crew. It's mainly his scumbag close friends. Ugh, I used to be in love with that jerk too, until I found out that he had tried to cheat on Sakura with that girl in his posse, the one with weird red hair.

Hozuki Suigetsu is the charming one who is all over girls and shit. He's a player. That's why I didn't want to get involved with him – and still don't. All I want to do is find out who has been sending me those gifts! But daaaaamn, he's cute.

Juugo was the weird one. He had some sort of weird personality disorder thing, but he was a sweet thing – usually. Apparently he's trying to become a veterinarian because he 'understands' what animals want. I thought that was kind of cool, since I have a cat of my own.

And last, but not least, there is Karin. She has weird ass hair and isn't even hot. One side of her hair is long and straight and silky while the other side is shot and unkempt. Also, she wore these hideous glasses. I didn't even want to look at her.

So, I took Kimimaro around and made introductions and then Tenten and Hinata rounded up everybody to head out to Otogakure. Being around Kimimaro was just so perfect. I wonder if it was him who sent me the drink and the flowers… He does know almost everything about me.

Hinata, Tenten, Kimimaro, Kin, Sai, Kiba, and I danced in a close circle. Kimi-kun had his hands on my waist and I could smell his Hugo Boss cologne. Mmm…

"Hey, Hinata, d'you think Kimimaro's cuuuute?" I purred to her.

She giggled and nodded and then proceeded to ask Tenten. Tenten, however, looked at him and shrugged with indifference. I laughed and turned to Kimimaro.

"Kimi-kun, I'm going to go get a drink, is that okay with you?" I looked up at him.

He nodded, "no problem, Ino-chan."

I weaved my way to the bar and ordered water when lo and behold I saw Shikamaru. Who would have thought?! Shikamaru! A club! Argh, I was going to kill him. Luckily, before I went over to punch his face in, Hinata and Tenten beat me to it. Each slapped him before turning around and heading deeper into the club.

"Ino-chan, would you like to go home?" Kimimaro's silk voice floated to my ears through the music. Hinata and Tenten probably told him what was going on.

I smiled gratefully and took his hand as he led me out of the pounding club. I headed out the door and everyone headed their separate ways. I drove carefully into the parking lot and then rushed up the stairs. I opened the door to my apartment, locked it, and flew into my bed.

"Nara Shikamaru, I hate you and stupid Temari!" I sobbed, before curling up into the big, fluffy comforter. I couldn't help it. This was not the way I wanted things to be.

Ugh, then, during my sob session, someone knocked on the door. I took a blanket with me and wrapped it around my shoulders and stumbled down the stairs. It was probably Tenten and/or Hinata-chan. Not caring about how I might look, I flung open the door and saw the shock of my life.

"Hello, Ino-chan, can I come in, yeah?"

**A/N: Hmm, who shall it be...?**

**ino-chan love: **I'm not sure about the crack pairing, yet, but Deidara/Ino _does_ sound promising. Sorry if Ino's last comment seems homophobic, but Ino's pissed off, all she wants to do is stay at home and eat ice cream and watch 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'.  
**Night Beauty:** I'm glad you're interested :)  
**Shinikage Mei: **i'm glad you like the writing style.  
**death rose kitty: **itachixino, eh? I'll try, I'm not sure if I can fit him in here...


	3. Date No 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any music I use.

**Chapter Three: The Dilemma**

I, Yamanaka Ino, swear to god that I have never been more shocked in my life. There, standing on my doorstep, was _Deidara_. Deidara was definitely not Hinata-chan or Tenten.

Dei-kun was one of the artists I'd met in Tsuchi no Kuni while I was on vacation with Shikamaru. He cheered me up with his art and advice whenever Shikamaru was out for long periods of time. Deidara was a potter who had sold me a few various trinkets that I wore or now kept around my house.

"Come in, Deidara," I ushered him in, took his dusty black bomber, and we sat on the couch.

He studied me with an artist's critical eye and finally said after a moment or two, "you look awful, Ino-chan. Did Shikamaru make you cry?"

I didn't even hesitate to answer, knowing he already knew, "yes."

He smiled softly and opened his arms for a hug. I dove into it and let out a couple more tears before finally wiping away the tears and looking up at Deidara. His dark blue eyes always amazed me. He had deep dark eyes that you could get lost in, I envied him. My eyes were cornflower blue and superficial.

Using his thumbs to wipe out the tears from beneath my eyes, I noticed that unlike most guys I dated or held hands with, his hands were rough, calloused, and the pads held a terra cotta like permanent stain.

"Care to tell me what's going on, then, luv?" Deidara asked, reclining on the couch and adjusting me like a puppet to lean against his chest.

"Alright," and somehow, when I told him, it was like dead weight seemed to rise into the air. All the words seemed to find themselves and just drift up like lazy smoke. It was somehow a milestone to feel like I was shedding Shikamaru.

That night I had slept soundly, the best sleep in nights. Even better, Deidara made me pancakes the next morning. Mmm, they smelt _so _good.

"Good morning, sleepy head," he said as I placed myself at the island eagerly awaiting my breakfast.

"Good morning to you too, so what's cookin'?" a smile played on my lips.

"Pancakes, yeah, so when are you going to work?" he flipped two before turning to look at me.

I thought about it, "I'm leaving at around 9 o'clock; I have a photo shoot to get to."

He nodded and handed me two pancakes on a plate.

"Thanks, Deidara," I grinned before picking up my knife and fork, "itadakimasu!"

Work was _hell_ as usual. Floral arrangements on a deadline were had to do, especially when nobody had a specific look they wanted. As usual, I just was still tweaking when they had placed it in the background before I finally settled. With the other arrangement I was in my element, small, but simple bouquets.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and pulled it out.

From: Deidara (020-4961-2358)  
Wanna go for dinner sometime, Ino-chan?  
Send me a reply later,  
Deidara

I used the white lilies that reminded me of my secret admirer and put them in a little bouquet with red accents. Still, unfinished, I added some white lilies throughout and then moved on. I was getting tired and I wanted to reply to Deidara's text message.

"Ino-chan! There you are!" Tenten said as she rushed over.

I smiled; glad to see a familiar face that wasn't my boss, "Oh! Are you doing clothes?"

She nodded and I felt my phone ring in my pocket again. Tenten looked curiously as I groaned when I read the message. No fuckin' way…

From: Kaguya Kimi-kun (020-1439-4500)  
Hi Ino,  
Let's go for dinner tonight.  
Send me a message soon, so I can book a reservation.  
Kimimaro

"Ugh, Tenten, what should I do? They _both_ want to go out for dinner," I half sighed. I chewed my bottom lip in confusion.

She laughed, "Go out for dinner with Kimimaro tonight and Deidara tomorrow night, but of course, you'll have to choose one."

I smiled, she knew how to cheer me up, "thanks, Ten-chan. I'll see you later?"

Tenten waved and went back to the clothes racks while I put together my last bouquet. Tonight was dinner with Kimimaro. Don't get me wrong, I like Kimimaro, he understands me and is a sweetie.

Deidara on the other hand, is like the artistic god. Also, Deidara understands my floral work because he believes that art is fleeting. When flowers are involved, especially cut ones, they don't last long.

To: Deidara (020-4961-2358)  
From: Yamanaka Ino (020-5493-4100)  
Hey, Deidara! I'd love to go for dinner with you tonight.  
I'll see you tonight, meet you at my place?  
Ino

But then again, there's Kimimaro who understands what I love and why I have my insecurities. He understands why I like to be wanted. I sighed and slumped backwards onto the grass and took a small catnap. Knowing Orochimaru, even though she was done, he would want her to be here. Sleeping was an accepted part of the job – if you weren't busy.

"YAMANAKA!" screeched what I had come to know as my boss.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Orochimaru was a scary creep, but was one of the four head bosses of _Jutsu_ magazine, so I respected him immensely. The other three were Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Sarutobi. Each ran a division and made it all their own.

"Yes, Orochimaru-san?" I asked politely.

He scowled and flicked his tongue in a snake-like manner before pointing at Kabuto, his _bitch_, "Help Kabuto, Yamanaka. He needs someone to keep an eye on him."

I wondered briefly about why Orochimaru would want me to watch his supposed most trusted advisor, but knowing Kabuto, he'd have a hidden agenda. So, anyways, I headed over to the photographer's area where Kabuto kept an eye on all the jewelry and various over the top items.

"Hey, Yakushi-san!" I smiled and he nodded curtly at me.

"Good evening, Yamanaka," was his short reply.

I sat on a bench and arranged myself into a comfortable position for the next three hours. Photo shoots were always like this; arrange flowers for the morning, have a short lunch, watch Kabuto until the shoot is over, report to Orochimaru anything strange, and leave.

A hand fingered my Blackberry and I messaged Kimimaro back.

To: Kaguya Kimi-kun (020-1439-4500)  
From: Yamanaka Ino (020-5493-4100)  
Hey Kimimaro!  
Wanna go for dinner tomorrow night?  
I think I can ask my boss to use his lake house.  
Bring some picnic stuff and we can have a candle light picnic.  
I'll forward you the address later.  
XOXO,  
Ino

At about quarter to 5 o'clock Orochimaru waved me over.

"Well, Yamanaka? What do you have to report on Kabuto?" he said in a clipped tone.

I stood quietly for a moment, gathering my thoughts, "Kabuto's been getting some." I blurted it out.

He looked at me, "explain."

"He has two hickeys on the back of his neck; also, he didn't curse anybody out for the longest time. Aside from that, Kabuto was eyeing the jewelry quite a bit, but otherwise, nothing seemed out of the ordinary," I summed up neatly.

Orochimaru looked amused for a minute before sighing, "You're my top intern this year. Don't get into too much trouble this year."

I nodded, "Orochimaru-sama? Do you think I could go up to the lake house tomorrow for dinner with a friend?"

He nodded again and dismissed me, which meant I was allowed to go home and get ready for my date with Deidara. Yay!

When I got home I changed into an S.W.O.R.D. leather jacket, which was a present from Orochimaru to the interns, and a sexy backless, black silk Rag & Bone dress with a pair of Cesare Paciotti leather stilettos heels, also courtesy of Orochimaru.

Once I had put on the finishing touches to my outfit, I heard Deidara ring the doorbell. I appeared at the door all 'dolled up' as Sakura put it, and a bright smile.

"Wow, Ino-chan, you look amazing. I love your hair; it looks all sophisticated in a French braid. Anyways, let's go out to dinner, there's a lovely Tsuchi no Kuni specialty restaurant in the area I'd like to go try," Deidara murmured in a jumble of words.

Dinner was awesome. Sure, the Tsuchi food was good, but the conversation was intriguing. This was definitely gossip worthy.

"So, I used to work with Orochimaru, way back," he looked at her and waved her fork around, "except, he took our secrets from _Akatsuki Corp._, yeah. He left behind a lot of bad blood."

I shrugged, "Orochimaru-san can be psychotic sometimes, but everybody respects him. Half of the reason I came out here for the internship is because Tsunade's a crazy, drunken, gambler. Sure, we respect her, but hell, no one wants to work for her. Sakura idolizes her, though."

Deidara smirked, "Akatsuki does its best to bring down Orochimaru, Ino, and you wouldn't want to be caught in the crossfire, yeah."

A cattish grin formed on my face, "but Deidara…you wouldn't let me get caught, would you?"

Deidara laughed, but avoided my question, "c'mon, let's go back to my place for a little bit, yeah?" He put his signature, a messy flourish, on the bill and he left with her.

"C'mon, let's go back to my place for a little bit, maybe introduce you to Akatsuki, to, you know, keep you outta trouble, yeah?

I smiled and got into his pretty little convertible, once again and we sped into the night. Now, I'm sure that I'm not supposed to meet anyone from Akatsuki, seeing as Orochimaru has a dartboard with their faces on it, I couldn't help it. I wanted to be involved in Deidara's life.

We met up at Otogakure with his friends who were partying it up. I spotted a black haired guy who looked suspiciously like Sasuke. Hm, this must be his hated older brother, Itachi. I had to say, now that I had seen them both in the flesh, Itachi was _way_ hotter.

As perfectly delicious as the elder Uchiha looked, he was hanging out with some freaky fish dude. From having Orochimaru as a boss, I recognized him to be one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist.

"Ino-chan!" Deidara called over the loud music.

I looked at him and smiled as he led me over to their table, "Ino-chan, this is Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, yeah. Itachi, Kisame, this is Yamanaka Ino, yeah."

Itachi raised his glass in toast and licked his lips while Kisame nodded.

"It's nice to meet Dei-kun's friends," I purred charmingly, while not breaking eye contact with Itachi. Afterwards I just smiled cutely and turned back to Deidara who had spotted someone else on the other side of the club.

He pulled me to another table with a Venus Flytrap-esque man, a red-head, a guy with too many facial piercings, and a woman with blue hair and a flower accessory in it.

Once again, Orochimaru's rantings came in handy. Venus Flytrap man was Zetsu, Orochimaru always mumbled something about a split personality. The red-head was a puppeteer of sorts, his name was Akasuna Sasori. The guy with all the studs in his face is Pein. Pein was Orochimaru's rival editor-in-chief. The woman is Pein's 'personal' advisor.

Orochimaru just says that it's a fancy way of saying that he's boning her.

Deidara held me close to him, "Ino-chan, this is Zetsu, Sasori and Leader-sama." Even though Pein's personal assistant didn't need an introduction, it would have been nice to have something to tell Orochimaru about.

"Nice to meet you," I flashed them a soft smile before tugging on Deidara's sleeve. I cast a meaningful look at Itachi and Kisame's table and he understood. I was not comfortable in the presence of Pein and as Itachi resembled Sasuke, I could deal with him.

We spent the rest of the night grinding and sitting at Itachi and Kisame's table. I also got to talk to the blue headed woman. I have to say, I give her credit for putting up with all those guys. They seem like they can be a little much. I have to say, I do admire her and what Orochimaru says only seems kind of true.

Alright, you must realize that my internship has brought me a lot more than just using my _ikebana_ skills or sitting around at photo shoots spying on other employees. For some reason, Orochimaru thinks I can go far and is training me personally. Tenten is under Kabuto's watch, even though he doesn't trust him…

Sometimes I hate my job, sometimes I love it. I don't think I'll tell Orochimaru any of this though, especially now that I'm close friend with Deidara…

I don't know if I could lead either one on. God damn, I was faced with a dilemma; I mean… they were both important. Kimi-kun was a childhood friend and Deidara had been my rock in the sea of Shikamaru.

* * *

**Deathrosekitty:** if you squint there's a moment between Itachi and Ino, just for you, hehe.  
**Transluscent Entity:** Perhaps you have some suggestions as to how I can make it more original? Hmm? 

**A/N: Reviews would be nice, please:)**


	4. The Boss

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any music I use.

**Old Friends**

**Chapter Four: The Boss**

I stepped into the office with a light spring in my step and greeted Tenten cheerfully. "Good morning, Ten-chan! How was working with Kabuto?"

She smiled back with that secretive smile of hers, "it's been great actually. He's introduced me to this fitness trainer, Rock Lee, and I've been having sooo much fun!"

Her hair was tied together nicely and she wore a satiny, deep violet Cynthia Rowley dress. With it she wore a pair of black leggings, and classic Prada heels, a present from Kabuto, if I remembered correctly.

"So, d'you like him?" I grinned.

Tenten mock gasped and then murmured, "of course not… Anyways, nice Ed Hardy zip-up, I can't believe you don't own a Great Wall one."

I shook my head at her and proceeded to checking my e-mail. There was Orochimaru's morning memo, Kabuto's list of photo shoots and interviews that were coming up, and a note from Deidara telling me what his friends thought of meeting me.

"So, Ten-chan, where are you going to school in September?" I asked, curious to know her schedule.

She grinned, "Oto's famous _Hebi no Sannin,_ I'm taking Art History for my last credit."

"Sweet! I'm going out to Shikotsumyaku University for Journalism and Art History!" I chuckled as well and then opened Orochimaru's e-mail first.

From: Orochimaru  
To: Group: CEOs; Group: Interns  
Subject: AFTERNOON MEETING  
CEOs, Interns:  
I need my interns as well as Kabuto, and the other CEOs to come in for a meeting in the upstairs boardroom at 2:00 after lunch. Be prompt, or else.  
Orochimaru  
President of _Oto _Jutsu  
_All e-mails are personal and private property of Oto Jutsu. If you are not the recipient of this message, please reply to this message and delete it._

"Did you read Orochimaru's memo about the meeting?" called Tenten from her teak desk and book shelf set. Beneath it was a stainless steel wastepaper basket and she sat in a high backed leather chair. My corner was adjacent to hers so I sat in the middle of the room, but a double-sided teak and cherry wood, depending on your side, sat between us. My cherry wood desk was parallel with the wall behind me. The rest of the room held racks and racks of clothes and the hallway turned into another room.

"Yup, I hate going to meetings. It always turns out the same. Orochimaru says something, another CEO corrects him, they get in a fight, Orochimaru phones Tsunade or Jiraiya to get them to back his point, they don't, he throws a fit, and we all leave," I droned.

Ten-chan gave a laugh, "yeah, but I love working here, so I don't mind."

I agreed, "but I wish I could go home to Hi no Kuni more often…"

We both sighed and deleted Kabuto's e-mail, because I already had it all tacked onto the calendar that sat behind my desk. I switched e-mail accounts to my student one and checked my message from Deidara.

From: Deidara  
To: Yamanaka Ino   
Subject: RE: Dinner  
Ino-chan,  
I had a great time last night. Good food and even better company, yeah? We should do this again. The rest of _Akatsuki_ was impressed with you, yeah. They said something about you working for us.  
Deidara  
_Art Contributor to Akatsuki_

I just have to know what the hell it is with all these hot shots putting their job titles after their names, jeez. Then again, as soon as I get a title worth showing off, I'd do that too. To hell for working at Akatsuki, they might be the hottest up and coming thing, but _Jutsu_ was nationwide and well known for its staying power.

With another sigh, I remembered my date with Kimi-kun, "damn. I should meet him and explain the whole thing to him… Tonight I'll decide – well, I think.

Anyways, this dinner would probably be way more personal and a little mellower, seeing as we weren't going to the hottest club around and meeting other people. Speaking of which, I liked the fresh vibe. I needed some fresh air too.

At lunch I headed outside and I had an espresso at the nearby coffee place. Ahh, I loved those demitasse cups. All that coffee goodness packed together, mmm. Meanwhile, I also sent Kimimaro a message.

To: Kaguya Kimi-kun (020-1439-4500)  
From: Yamanaka Ino (020-5493-4100)  
Hey, Kimi-kun, the address is 6868 Lakeview Road, it's off Lake Yuki. I'll see you later, ok?  
XOXO,  
Yamanaka Ino

With that finished, I waited for the day to end. Ugh, if only I could get past that awful meeting. I shouldered my purse, Furla if you want to know, and walked upstairs to the boardroom. Surprisingly, Orochimaru was there with Pein, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.

Curiously, I took a detour to the washroom and teased up my normally silky, pencil straight blond hair, and put on my green McQ scarf to bring out more green in my eyes. I honestly hoped Pein would not recognize me.

I strode purposefully into the boardroom and sat next to Orochimaru and he handed me a Mont Blanc fountain pen and Tenten and Kabuto sat at the other side of me. I greeted Tsunade, who I sat across from and her own assistant, Shizune gave me a curt nod.

The four sided square table was had _Jutsu_ members on one side and _Akatsuki_ on the other. The bosses sat on the inside while the assistants sat on the outside. The blue headed woman I sat next to gave me a knowing smile, which I gladly returned.

Tenten nodded to me and debriefed me quietly, "in order to band together against several other larger companies, _Jutsu_ and _Akatsuki_ are banding together against _Hyuuga's Bazaar_, _U, the Uchiha Magazine_, and _Egotistic Festival_."

I whispered under my breath, "damn, and Orochimaru _hates_ Akatsuki."

She grinned, "the other's have forced his vote and he can't run _Oto Jutsu_ on his own."

Orochimaru stood and I kept the pen poised and I avoided Pein's stare.

"As you all know, with the newest arrival of _Hyuuga's Bazaar_ merging with smaller privately owned magazines and _U, the Uchiha Magazine_, so, in accordance, we," he motioned to Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, "would like to merge _Jutsu_ and _Akatsuki_ into one corporate company."

Sometime later, my hand kept writing, but my head had wandered off somewhere else. At the end of the meeting I waited for Orochimaru. A nasty smirk was on his face and Orochimaru nodded to the two girls, "you are dismissed."

"And Ino?" I stopped walking and turned to look, "I would appreciate it if you did not associate with _Akatsuki_ until the merger is over…"

I refrained from a smile, "hai Orochimaru-sama."

I turned and opened the door, the stagnant air hitting me softly. The soft tune Vivaldi's _Four Seasons_ played in the elevator as I rode down to the bottom floor. You see; when you take the elevator on the right, it plays the _Four Seasons_ while if you take the left one, it plays Liszt on the right.

None of the elevator's went straight down to the parking below, so I got out of the elevator and walked to the other one, which goes down to the parking. I wasn't sure if Kimimaro was getting anything to eat, so I settled for getting a bottle of Veuve Cliquot and two of my favourite panini sandwiches. I deposited them in this cute wicker picnic basket and set off for Orochimaru's lake house.

I _love_ the lake house. Every year, for our before-summer intern-party we all head up to the lake house and have a light lunch on the balcony. Right now, we would forego the long table and sit on the ground under the stars.

The lake house stars helped me forget everything. All the problems with Sakura's asshole, possessive boyfriend just melted off my shoulder's as I opened the balcony door to lay out one of the Burberry fleece blankets. My dilemma between who I should choose seemed to flutter away into the night sky.

My breath seemed to be taken out of my grasp because I found myself staring out into the black glass that was the lake. I left it open and let a few of the lanterns outside. As I wandered back into the house I flipped open the in-house stereo system.

"Hmm, Vivaldi's _Four Seasons_… and Liszt," I murmured, flipping through the CDs, "Vivaldi it is." I shut the box and returned to unpacking the champagne and the sandwiches. I opened the fridge and was surprised to find a fruit platter with a note stuck on it.

_Yamanaka, for your little get together I have had the farmers put out the freshest fruits from the crops. – Orochimaru_

I whistled and brought those out and set out another throw and sat along the railing on the balcony. Damn, it was pretty, all the stars, the lake, and Vivaldi's violins playing in the background. Mmm.

Then, a voice broke me out of my reverie, "Ino-chan? I'm at the front."

I click-clacked my way to the front in my Cesare Paciotti boots. My long blonde hair swayed in the wind as I imagined him all suited up and holding white lilies.

_As if_.

* * *

**A/N: **Whoever can recognize any of the magazines in their 'altered' state will get a cookie. Review, please:) 


	5. Romanticism

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any music I use.

**Chapter Five: Romanticism**

Instead, Kimimaro stood there in a Burberry dark blue cashmere pullover and a pair of _Dior Homme_ charcoal pin-striped slacks. His feet were encased in black leather Hugo Boss shoes. Alright, so he looks _damn fine_ and this is just as good, considering he's holding a single blue iris.

"Kimi-kun!" I squealed and gave him a hug, "that's for me?"

He nodded shyly and handed me the flower. I took his hand graciously and walked him through the tiled areas out to the wood laminate floors of the balcony.

The light from the ceramic lanterns glowed softly on his face as he glanced outside, "amazing, did you go all out or what?" he murmured breathlessly, drinking in the area.

I chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, "no, but the food's pretty tasty, oh! And I brought some champagne."

Kimimaro uncorked it expertly and then we toasted, "to good company and good food."

Suddenly, I thought of the empty bookshelf in Sakura's old room, "Kimi-kun, let's take a picture, we haven't taken one since…before I left."

We posed, him with a simple, soft, barely there smile, and myself with a bright, smile and a raised champagne flute. His long white hair seemed to blend with the ends of my platinum blond strands. The striking difference between us was the eyes. Kimimaro had exotic, creepy, red eyes, while I myself had pupil-less light cornflower blue eyes.

"Ino-chan, where did you get this sandwich? It's wonderful," he seemed to breathe out his words instead of speaking. It was a quiet rasp that was kind of sexy, compared to Deidara's exuberant manner of speech.

My own panini sandwich had been devoured politely for a while as I picked from the fruit platter, "a little shop just before you hit the lake town." I popped a raspberry in my mouth and I let out a soft sigh of contentment.

"What kinds of fruit do we have here?" he asked, "raspberries, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, blackberries, and peaches?"

I nodded before taking another slice of peach.

"Excellent, all my favourites," he said before taking a nibble at a large strawberry, "there's this little place next door to the _Jutsu_ offices that sells fruit with cereal and some fresh cream. Perhaps, we'll go to breakfast, one of these days?"

Kimimaro glanced up shyly at me and I couldn't help but smile, "tomorrow then, when we head back into town."

He looked up, "are we not heading home?"

I shook my head, "nonsense. It's too late to get back in time for enough sleep to go into another meeting tomorrow morning and I fed my cat a lot of food. Besides, Orochimaru has _packs _of unopened silk boxers and other items."

Finally, he shot me a full blown grin, "great, we'll spend the night and leave early for some breakfast tomorrow, alright, Ino-chan?"

Somehow, I felt like he needed to be needed by someone else, like he kept looking for assurance. So I grinned back and helped him put away the empty fruit platter and the throw away the garbage.

Afterwards I headed up to Kabuto and Orochimaru's respective rooms. I opened up Kabuto's stash of unopened, tags still on, Hugo Boss dress shirts and threw one on to wear to sleep. I stripped off everything except for my panties and pilfered Orochimaru's still-in-package, unopened, tags still on silk boxers for Kimimaro.

We slept in the guest rooms and the next morning Kimimaro wore the same pin-stripe slacks with the Hugo Boss shoes, but instead of the sweater, he wore a Juicy Couture t-shirt.

"Good morning, Kimi-kun," I smiled at him.

Kimimaro chuckled, "come on; let's go out for some breakfast." He slung an arm around my shoulders and we drove back into town. He was right, fresh cream and berries was the perfect way to start off my day. I nearly skipped back into the office and waved to Tenten.

"Good morning," she called with a smile, "nice 3.1 Phillip Lim skirt."

I grinned back, "Thanks, have you ever been to the little market next door? They sell the _best_ berries and fresh cream."

"I'll keep that in mind…" Tenten grinned, "So, how was your date with _Kimimaro_, eh?"

I laughed, "I think, it was _the_ most romantic date ever. The stars, the lake, the food, and the atmosphere were _perfect_."

Tenten smiled, "well, it does sound _perfect_, but seeing as how you planned it, it should have been perfect." We both laughed and simply worked on typing out several files and organizing Orochimaru's hectic schedule around his weekly chess game against Jiraiya.

As the phone rang I picked it up, "hello, _Oto Jutsu_, Yamanaka Ino's office, how may I help you?"

A familiar voice came through the line, "Ino-chan, yeah, it's me, Deidara, yeah."

Suddenly, gripping fear grabbed hold of my chest. Oh shit, ice raced through my veins, what was I supposed to do? Oh _my_ god. I calmed down and gave a weak smile to Tenten.

"Hey, Deidara, how are you?" I responded brightly.

He seemed smug, "I think that we should go for dinner tonight at _Sannin_."

Holy shit, the _Sannin_ was one of the best restaurants around. I paused for a moment and decided what could be a plausible truth, "you know, Deidara, I don't think I'm ready for another commitment after Shika…"

Tenten raised an eyebrow and I winked back, "alright, yeah, take as long as you want, Ino-chan. I'll see you at the merger signing later today. Bye, yeah."

"Sayonara, Dei-_kun_," I chuckled back.

I opened my student e-mail account and saw one new one from Hinata-chan.

From: Hyuuga Hinata  
To: Yamanaka Ino  
Subject: Lunch  
Ino-chan! It would be nice to go for some lunch today at _El Nino_. I want to know how your date went!  
XOXO,  
Hyuuga Hinata  
_Marketing Director at Byakugan Corp._

She laughed, "You're lucky he understands you."

I pouted, sending a quick response to Hinata-chan, "no way, besides, I'm going to go to lunch with Hinata-chan. Want to come, Ten-chan?" I asked, looking up with a smile. There was a grin and a nod of affirmation before we continued our separate work.

"Good, then you can drive us out to _El Nino_," I murmured.

She chuckled, "so are you going for Kimimaro, then?"

I tapped my chin thoughtfully and shrugged. I wasn't entirely sure myself, but I wanted to be able to make the right decision. At first I had just wanted to go out on dates to forget about Shikamaru, but now that Shikamaru was in the midst of being forgotten, I wanted to make the right decision.

I propped my feet up and sighed contentedly. Two days in my Cesare Paciotti boots and my feet were killing me. Never mind that they accentuated my ass, and gave me the _sexiest_ posture, but seriously, I could not walk around for two days in these. Tomorrow, I was going to wear flats.

* * *

Ten-chan and I sat down in a booth at _El Nino_ and were talking about all the hottest gossip in _Oto_ lately.

"Oh, hey, I was at _Otogakure_ yesterday and guess who I saw?!" she grinned, taking a sip of her water.

I recognized that grin, "no way, _Uchiha-fucking-Sasuke_?" I shrieked.

Those pretty doe brown eyes danced with excitement and I had to ask, "was he with Sakura?"

"No! That's what is _so_ juicy! He was there with _Karin_!" crowed Tenten.

We giggled and I looked at the door for telltale liquid, ebony hair. When I saw Hinata-chan I waved her over. Those lovely lavender eyes and dark hair with fair skin was a stellar combination. She was _hot_.

"Hey! _Hinata-chan!_" I smiled at her.

She smiled back daintily, "Hello, Ino-chan. Hi, Tenten-senpai."

Tenten nodded and took a sip of water. Her bun was tied with a

The only reason Hinata-chan did not work at _Oto Jutsu _was because her father, the almight Hyuuga Hiashi, was the co-chairman of Byakugan Corporations with his brother Hyuuga Hizashi. Hyuuga Hizashi happened to also be the father of Hyuuga Neji, Tenten's ex-boyfriend. It's very funny how small the world is.

"Great dress, Hinata-chan," I said, off-handedly after we gave the waiter our orders.

She beamed, "it's, ah, by Kara Janx."

"A_mazing_ grape purple with taupe trim," agreed Tenten.

Once we got past the small talk Hinata-chan got right in there, "Ino-chan, h-how was your date with Kimimaro?"

I grinned; passive Hinata was still in there – barely, "it was romantic. You remember the lake house, don't you? We ate on the patio and sat outside watching the lake and talking. Of course, the mood was set with Orochimaru's favourite, Vivaldi's _Four Seasons_ and the lanterns outside…"

Hinata squealed, "That's so romantic!"

"I know, Ino-chan's so lucky, eh?" Tenten winked and we laughed. More gossip was discussed, but they're all rumors, so I don't feel the need to disclose any of it.

I got back into my black Mercedes with Ten-chan riding shotgun and my Blackberry rang. I frowned, only three people called me on my Blackberry, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Shizune.

"Ten-chan, can you pass m-"

"-got it," she handed it to me and I pushed the accept button.

"Hello, this is Yamanaka Ino," I said softly.

A creepy voice I knew too well screeched down the line, "Yamanaka! You and Tenten report to my office _immediately! _You have invitations and our leading contributing editor has an idea to pitch to you two!"

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama, we'll be there soon," he just hung up on me and I turned to Tenten. She just shrugged, obviously as clueless as I.

I parallel parked on the street and we hopped out and hopped in to the express elevator, the one that goes _directly_ to the 85th floor.

Tenten pushed open the door and I called, "Orochimaru-san! Your lovely interns are here!"

Orochimaru shot us a death glare and we both shut up. Sometimes, he could be a little uptight… I sat down in one of the chairs opposite to his desk and Ten-chan sat in the other one. We both sat in our chairs and quietly.

Orochimaru stared intensely at them both, "I would like you to write invitations to the _Oto Metropolitan Ball._ Also, the editor-at-large wants to take you two and two or three friends shopping to find outfits to wear for an article, are you up for it?"

* * *

**A/N: Some feedback would be nice. Just because I'm not sure how to keep this moving. I know where I want to go, but I'm having trouble getting there, if you know what I mean...**


	6. Hozuki Suigetsu

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any music I use.

**Chapter Six: Hozuki Suigetsu**

"Hey, Ino, did you ever find out who sent you those presents?" Tenten asked curiously.

I shook my head, "no, actually, I never got around to it. Kimimaro and Deidara didn't admit to them and they certainly weren't from Sui-kun."

Tenten read out a bunch of names we recognized from the list, "Akatsuki, Hyuuga _Neji_, Hinata, Sasuke, Sakura, the _U_ by _Uchiha_ staffers are coming out, Tsunade, Sarutobi-san, Jiraiya with their assistants, and I don't recognize any of the other names, but they look like shareholders."

I picked up at pen and I folded the list in half and tore it off, "I get the bottom half."

She nodded and picked up another pen and started writing.

It hadn't occurred to me how many Uchihas I had to write as I stared at the bottom of the list which held many of the Uchihas. I pouted as I read down the list, Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto, Uchiha Itachi of Akatsuki, Uchiha _Madara_, Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Sasuke of _U_, and Uchiha Shisui. Obviously _Jutsu_ was showing off.

I was starting at 'n', and the first name was Namiashi Raido. I wrote in my neatest handwriting.

Tenten threw her last envelope down into the pile and grinned, "done!" as I licked my last envelope shut. I smirked back at her and she laughed.

"C'mon, let's get our list together, Orochimaru will approve them," she said pulling out a blank piece of paper.

I ran a hand through my long blonde mane and grinned, "put Kimimaro on the list!"

After dropping off the lists and invitations I drove home and I was pretty much going to collapse right then and there at the door. Goddamn it, I dug out my keys and saw a figure in the dark walking towards me. As it sped up I turned my key quickly and slipped inside.

My heart beat faster for a moment and I calmed down and locked the door. I walked into the main portion of the house and sighed. I turned off the lower portion of the condos security system on and lay down on my bed.

Although we lived in a nice neighbourhood that was close to the central business area where we worked, we still lived mostly downtown. As creepy and weird as it is, there are a lot of criminals and what not.

Now, now, I'm not totally useless. I can protect myself fairly well as I took various forms of martial arts when I was younger. There was a thud at a window and I cursed, if this fucker had a weapon, I didn't think I could protect myself.

I turned off the alarm and walked down the stairs, towards the balcony window. I slipped to the side of the window and in between the curtains that hung. From the window I saw a bunch of little pebbles littering the balcony floor.

The beating speed increased and I scowled. I hated being afraid, "fuck." I looked down and saw a familiar face, "Suigetsu, are you drunk?" I flung open the balcony doors and glared at him.

He grinned charmingly, "Karin kicked me out of the studio so I didn't have anywhere else to go."

I growled, "what about Sasuke?"

Suigetsu laughed, "as if Sakura wants me to be there. She'd kick me out in a flash, god damn woman. So, can I come in, Ino?"

"I guess so," I said with a haughty glare and a toss of my long blond hair, "you can use the _normal_ entrance way." I shut the balcony doors and locked them. My pajamas weren't really appropriate, seeing as they were a bunch of t-shirts and dress shirts acquired from various exes and filched from various friends, Kimimaro in particular.

As I wandered back up the stairs I pulled out a pair of Hugo Boss sweatpants for men, but seeing as they made them skinny enough to be slightly loose on me, I wore them. I pulled my hair back and walked carefully through the apartment, turning on all the lights as I went.

Usually, Sui-kun isn't an unwelcome guest, but he's been hounding at me for a while. I guess his relationship with Sasuke is getting strained, not that this is a bad thing because Sui-kun is fun to hang out with.

I reached for the lock and unlocked it, letting Suigetsu in to my foyer, "good evening, Sui-kun. What's going on?"

He ran a hand through his hair and snorted, "You know that ever since Sasuke and Sakura moved in Karin, Juugo, and I have been living in one of Sasuke's empty lofts? Well, she said she was finally 'fed up' with all our 'bullshit' so she fucking threw us out of our house!"

With a smidgen of sympathy for Karin I laughed, "You have to admit, Sui-kun, you and Juugo are not the easiest people to live with."

He scowled and I pulled out my LG Shine cell phone and looked through my book of _personal_ contacts. These were all people who had been friends with my father, _Yamanaka_ Inoichi. I flipped through and found Kimimaro's father and several other high profile men.

First on the list was _Sarutobi Asuma_, the dean of Hi no Kuni University and my tutor for several years in private school. He taught Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and I for several years. Although, I think only Chouji and I needed tutors, Shikamaru has always been too smart for his own good. Overall, Asuma-sensei was very patient with us, he taught us a lot, but he was married to Kurenai-sensei who was Hinata and Kiba's professor.

The next on the list was _Nara Shikaku_, a good friend of Daddy's and Shikamaru's father. Several other included were _Akimichi Choza_, Cho's father; _Morino Ibiki-sensei_, my Daddy's advisor; _Namiashi Raido_, one of Daddy's subordinates; _Shiranui Genma_, a personal friend of the family; and last but not least _Gekko Hayate_, another close friend of Daddy's.

There was no way I could have Shikamaru or Choji house Suigetsu, they would kill him for sure. Ibiki-sensei was out of the question, he had some homicidal tendencies. Gekko Hayate was currently living with Yugao-senpai… and everyone _knew_ Yugao-senpai could scream. Namiashi Raido and I were having a tiff, so my last option was Shinarui Genma.

Hell's no.

The last thing I needed was to stick these two ladies men together. Now, normally I would let Suigetsu stay in _my_ apartment, but I felt that I should probably hand him over to someone else. At least while I was still trying to keep my options open.

I dialed Genma, "Genmaa!"

He mumbled something incoherently before speaking into the phone, "Ino-chan? What do you want?"

"Are the keys to your downstairs apartment still underneath the doorknocker?" the stupid owl knocker was annoying, but it had served both of us well.

Genma laughed, "yeah, but I'll be back in town next Saturday! So don't use it for too long and no wild parties! Your father would kill me."

"Haha, Genma, you'll have to come over next week then, buh-bye! Mwah," I gave him a mock kiss and hung up.

Suigetsu, who was currently lounging on my couch looked up at me, "well? Can I just crash here?"

I rolled my eyes at him and snorted, "uh – NO, but you can stay downstairs. Let's just go grab the keys and whatever, but only for a week, so hurry up and start making amends with Karin. Or just go have some hot sex with her, whatever works."

"Ugh, gross," he said making a disgusted face, "I didn't even know Karin was female."

As usual I shot him a dirty look and I led him downstairs, "yeah right. I've seen you check her out before and didn't you two 'hook up' last summer?"

Suigetsu recoiled in shock, "WHAT? HOW DID YOU KNOW – I mean…" he glared, "daaaamn."

I laughed all the way down the stairs. Suigetsu was so dense sometimes.

He flashed me a little grin, "so...wanna?"

As usual, I sent him a repulsed glare and then waved him off, "no."

A little pout formed on his lips as he staggered down the stairs, "fine then."

* * *

The week passed by fast and I found myself sitting with Tenten, Hinata, Kimimaro, Suigetsu, and the editor-at-large in a fitting process. Hinata-chan had decided that as a show of good faith to _Jutsu_, she would appear in our special.

The editor-at-large was currently Danzo, although, Orochimaru seemed to have a new one every week. Hinata-chan had already gone through her fitting and was currently standing in her Ralph Lauren Black Label Vintage Lace Skirt with a Cashmere Turtleneck Halter of the same brand. She spun in a circle daintily and Danzo gushed, "oh, fabulous!"

As an intern, I still had to work for the fitting and the shoot, "have you seen the new Jean Paul Gaultier Trench coat? It would be perfect to wear over this."

Danzo looked at me for a moment, "well, our little _intern_ is asserting herself." Orochimaru seemed to be surprised and did not know how to take the neutral tone.

From the beautiful duster bag, I pulled it out and Danzo grinned with glee, "_bee-yoo-tee-ful!_ What do you think Hyuuga-san?"

"I l-love it!" Hinata grinned, tying the trench and giving another twirl, "absolutely perfect!"

Orochimaru fit Suigetsu next an all white Dolce & Gabbana suit. His striking blue eyes stood out perfectly and instead of the skinny black tie, Orochimaru had taken a white linen scarf and tied it around his neck. He wore a pair of Hugo Boss shoes and looked _perfect_.

Danzo grinned, "_oh!_ I just _love it!_"

Orochimaru dressed Kimimaro in a black Prada suit with a white Etro shirt and vivid red cufflinks to bring out his eyes. I thought he looked amazing, too bad I wasn't officially his date…

As Tenten and I were waiting for our turns she casually pointed out Danzo's assistant, Sai.

"Doesn't he look like _Sasuke_?!" she whispered.

I glared, "no way," and then she cocked her head, "it's _SAI!_"

We laughed and then Danzo called up Tenten for her turn. She grinned and then went to stand before him, her hair was down for once and looked shiny as ever.

"Well, you're not short, but you have the _longest_ legs on a woman of your height!" he grinned, "I have the _perfect_ dress for you." Danzo made a gesture to Sai and Sai went to fetch the dress. A smile played on my lips; I had never known Sai to work for anyone. I'd have to ask him later.

Tenten was pushed into a change room by Sai along with a pair of towering Christian Louboutin heels. When she came out I gasped.

Orochimaru grinned, "Elie Saab Couture, high-waist with tulle, _perfect_."

As Tenten went back into the change room I could not help but envy her. That was a genius dress. I love Elie Saab, his stuff is classic red carpet '_wow_'. I pushed my blonde hair out of my eyes and shifted slightly on the tall stool.

Orochimaru motioned for me and I stood in front of him, "Danzo, this is the blond beauty I was telling you about."

Danzo looked me up and down and all over and finally he grinned, "you missed your calling, girl. You could have been a model!"

"She's too smart to be a model," Orochimaru said lightly, his dark eyes flickering to my own pale complexion.

Danzo nodded in agreement and he pulled out a beautiful white flowing Alexander McQueen dress. It was cut so that the front was just above the knee and the back was down by my ankles. I twirled once and everybody sort of nodded in consideration.

Sai spoke up, "Ino-chan looks good, but it's not stunning." I blushed in return and smiled sweetly at him. He winked and went to get another dress.

"Get me the _Hilary Swank_ dress!" called Danzo.

Orochimaru had an entirely different vision, "get me the feathered _Marchesa_ dress!" Danzo looked shocked for a moment and then grinned. I knew why the Hilary Swank dress wasn't for me, it was because my eyes didn't pop. Orochimaru loves the eyes, they're his favourite feature.

I tried on the Hilary Swank dress first and gave a light twirl. Orochimaru smiled, "beautiful, Ino, but your eyes." All the _Oto Jutsu_ interns and employees nodded in understanding.

I went back in and got into the Marchesa dress. I didn't have huge boobs like Sakura or Tsunade, so this actually hugged my figure quite nicely. I stepped out and immediately Sai came over with a pair of Cesare Paciotti heels. I gushed, I loved Cesare Paciotti!

"This is _the_ dress for you," Tenten said as she fixed my hair and I stood in the mirror.

A familiar light headed curtain of hair peeked around the corner, "Yamanaka-san?" he said. Sai stepped in front of me so he wouldn't see my dress.

I grinned, "Hozuki Suigetsu, how good to see you." Orochimaru looked affronted at him even showing up. You see, at one point Hozuki Suigetsu had worked under Orochimaru and rumor has it he under went some 'experimental' plastic surgery and he now has to consume extraordinary amounts of water to keep from being dehydrated.

"You look great," he nodded, "and here are the RSVPs, don't mind Sas-_gay_'s request at the bottom there, ok, luvs?"

Tenten grinned and nodded, "see you later, Hozuki-san."

He then trotted off back out of the studio.

Sai stood beside me with a well placed bland, indifferent look on his face, "Well, that certainly was interesting wasn't it." My eyes narrowed, what were Sasuke and Karin plotting?

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for making you guys wait for so long!**


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